Cedar Grove UMC, December 2012

Golden Valley Community Club - 2012 - Participating Community

Joanne and Joe Brooks attended Western Carolina Communities Community Awards Program held at Grove Park Inn and received the 2012 Participating Community Award for the Golden Valley Community Club.

Sunshine School's Merry Christmas 2012

A visit to the library just isn't the same these days, what with the fun characters on display courtesy of Sunshine's talented volunteer, Ranger Randy Neyer.

Thank you Ranger Randy. You're the best!

The Golden Industrial Institute -- The South Mountain Institute

Rutherford County historian, Chivous Bradley was the guest speaker at the Golden Valley Community Club Meeting on November 20, 2012.

His topic was the Golden Industrial Institute and The South Mountain Institute. The names are used almost interchangeably, but they were two different operations, although they shared the building and a common past. According to the History of Southmountain Children and Family Services, the Golden Industrial Institute, a boarding school for girls and boys was opened in 1903 and was sold to Miss Ora Hill and Miss Bertha Moore for $500.00 in 1919, but a whole lot of history was lost in that telling....


Chivous Bradley speaks to club members

Chivous tells the story of a female benefactor, who, having inherited some money had decided to build some schools. Enter Miss Emily Pruden, the story goes, that Miss Pruden learning there was a tremendous need for a school in the Golden (the former mining community) and that she set about approaching some local people about the possibility to build a school in the area.

This was met with great enthusiasm by one of the Graysons who offered to donate about 25 acres on which to begin her enterprise. There were already a couple of buildings on the property, of which one had been a "bar" of sorts. (I was told the property had been known as "boot hill" there were so many fights up there and the idea of a school up there greatly appealed to the community). Miss Pruden accepted Mr. Grayson's offer and with a great deal of help from the community a building was begun, however before the building was completed they ran short of funds.

Enter Dr. Richard A. Forrest, who heard about the school and thought it might be a perfect place to open his theological college, after a visit he was certain this would be a good arrangement and started to move in students and faculty. This was no easy task, the nearest train station was at Logan's Store some 17 miles away, and with no paved roads nor vehicles, everything had to be moved by wagon from the station to the building. At one point on what is now the Bostic Sunshine Highway, the wagons had to be unloaded and furniture carried by hand to the top of the hill so the wagons could make it up the steep incline and be reloaded for the trip on to the school.  


Golden Valley club members listen and learn.

This proved to be unsatisfactory, and the Reverend Freeman went off in search of another location for his bible college, finding it at last in Georgia. Right off a railroad spur the Toccoa Falls Institute and Bible College was started. After the war men returned home from Europe and I'm sure you've heard of the Great Flu Pandemic. This hit hard here in Western North Carolina and many of the boarding student were orphaned. The children had no place to go, and so the school became an orphanage, one of the first in the nation. Miss Ora Hull and Miss Bertha Moore (who later married Mack McCurry, earning the name Bertha Mack McCurry) bought the school in 1919 for $500.00, according to the Southmountain Children and Family Services, and opened it's doors to 65 students. In and around 1922 the Shortoff School was completed in nearby Burke County and in 1935 the school moved to Burke County. There were 47 children who moved to the new facility and so, The South Mountain Institute got it's start.

You might like to know both Toccoa Falls Institute and Bible College and the South Mountain Institute survived and are still in operation in 2012, the latter changed it's name to Southmountain Children and Family Services in 2001. It is one of the oldest group homes in continuous operation in the nation. And both had their humble beginnings here in GoldenValley NC. And, in case you didn't know, it was Mrs. Bertha "Mack" McCurry who organized the community and chartered the Golden Valley Community Club in 1952.

We, would like to thank Chivous Bradley for coming out - Chivous - you're the best. And in an editorial comment he shares:  It might be useful to point out that the Shortoff School was built for the Burke County School Board for students in Linville Township but all except the students from Longtown were transferred to Glen Alpine about 1932. So, the Burke School Board leased it to Southmountain, Inc. for 99 years and allowed the orphans to attend school with the Longtown students beginning in 1935.

Golden Valley Community Club Meeting November, 2012

November New Time – New Location

Golden Valley Community Club Meeting on Monday

The GVCC Club will meet on Monday, November 19th at 6:30 pm at the Fellowship Hall of First Broad Church. We’ll be having turkey and all the trimmings – bring your dish and join us for supper. First Broad Church is directly across from the community club, right up the hill.

Chivous Bradley, one of our favorite Rutherford County’s historians will be with us to tell us the story of the Golden Valley Industrial Institute. I’ll bet you’ll be surprised to hear about that. Historically, Golden Valley has been on the cutting edge of history, more times than you’d think. The Industrial Institute was on both sides of HWY 226 about where Fairview Baptist Church is today. The Campbell’s home was part of the property. Come out and enjoy our program. Bring your friends, bring your neighbor, bring food and drink.

I am posting events to our GoldenValleyBlog as people send them to me. We have a permanent link to the blog at GoldenValleyNC.com. We also are running a Facebook Page with 350 followers, so if you have an event that needs to be posted "like" us online and post your event to our page or if you'd rather, just send the information to me, and I’ll post it for you. Events of all kinds: Church Programs, Fundraisers, School Reports, Bible Studies, Special events like Senior Projects, Sunshine Senior Meetings, Fire Department Auxiliary Meetings -- Pictures of your Great Aunt Sally and her mule Wilbur - essentially any item of interest you’d like to share. Link us to your business page – we’re here for the benefit of the community.

Tim Ferris over at The Blue Ridge Distillery (link on the left) would like to invite you to stop in at the distillery on Red Bud Lane off Highway 226. They are open Monday – Friday 9-5 and will come out and meet you if they are in. A few visitors were disappointed when they stopped in and no one was there. Tim and the crew have gone to New York to pump out some of those flooded subway tunnels in lower Manhattan. These men are the crew of Defiant Marine and they work all over the world.

Ronnie Walker, Director at Camp McCall has several items of interest to share; I’ll post them to the blog directly. Hope you are well and that you’re enjoying the beautiful crisp fall weather.

KD McCall, GoldenValleyNC.com 828 245-9003

Camp McCall Updates

Camp Mc Call Updates from Karen D McCall

Hospice of Rutherford County, Veterans Day 2012

Hospice of Rutherford County 2012 Festival of Trees

The Color is Here - Get Thyself to the Mountains

Hey, log home lovers, mountain worshipers, waterfall seekers, and everybody else who loves fall foliage,

Merely an hour and a half from the east side of Charlotte lies a little known refuge called the South Mountains State Park. You can scoot in via Highway 10 from HWY 226 between Shelby and Marion, and while you're in Polkville, stop in at Jerry's Store and nab yourself a bag of fried peanuts.

At the park you can take brilliant photographs and be sure to take home a bag full of your favorite leaves. A couple of years ago my friend Tracy came up with a leaf project I'd like to share with you today. Lay out your lovelies on top of your scanner and scan for instant art.

Works every time and in all combinations. Have fun, enjoy the weather, and if you decide it's time to own some land, let me know. There are some real deals out there and I'm in the business, a real card-carrying Realtor.

Ralph Hise, Phil Feagan and Mike Hager visit Golden Valley NC

Monday, October 15th, political candidates visited the Golden Valley Community Club for an informal Question and Answer. (Brave Souls). Questions  ranged from Jobs to Education - Gun Control to Right to Life. If you missed it, you missed a great opportunity to ask your questions and have them answered. It's not often we can visit one to one with our politicians. If you missed it you can visit the candidates online.   Phil Feagan and Ralph Hise  with Mike Hager.

Left to right: Mike Hager, Phil Feagan, Ralph Hise



Cedar Grove October 17 and 24 th -- 2012

Wednesday Night at Cedar Grove

Exercise at Cedar Grove Every Week

This free class is open to the public, you do not have to be a church member to attend, just come on. Bring a mat (a folded blanket works fine) and a towel to the Yoga class. 

UNC TV Gold Fever

Watch Gold Fever and the Bechtler Mint on PBS. See more from Gold Fever and the Bechtler Mint.

Golden Valley Community Club September 17, 2012

GVCC Meeting September 17, 2012

The Golden Valley Community Club met on September 17th, 2012 and enjoyed a presentation by local author Joe Epley who came out to the clubhouse. Joe Epley, of Epley Writes has published a new book, "A Passel of Hate", a novel, about the tumultuous times in the territories, during the Revolutionary War when neighbor faced off against neighbor as the Patriots and Loyalists were split, in this area of Western Carolina. Deitra Lovelace put it very succinctly when she said, “Imagine, you’re just washing the dishes, going about routine chores and suddenly your house is surrounded by troops.” And that’s how it was for the people in this area, where neighbors might live a mile or more from one another. Soldiers would come upon the farms suddenly. That’s where Epley’s book takes you, on a journey back in time, where a boy and a girl, a neighbor and his wife, a brother and brother, were separated by events and loyalties were divided in this area, as much or more than any other. Epley’s book is available through his website and at Amazon.com .

Golden Valley Community Club at Camp McCall August 2012

August at Camp McCall 2012

GVCC Meeting Monday September 17, 2012

http://us5.campaign-archive1.com/?u=c19237c7df7f5bed93ca6f161&id=95873725b6

Click here to see and subscribe to the Community Newsletter. We have a great meeting lined up for everyone on Monday night. Joe Epley will be here with his new historical novel about the Revolutionary War, "A Passel of Hate" Bring a dish and a dollar and come on down!

Community Announcement - September 16th 2012

Thanks to Pastor Cindy Lunsford for sharing this!

Camp McCall September 15th, 2012

Camp McCall Fun Day August 24 - 25 2012

Golden Valley NC, Community Club Meets at Camp McCall, August 2012

GVCC meets at Camp McCall Monday August 20th – 6 PM

The Golden Valley Community Club will meet at Camp McCall at the upper pavilion on Monday night, we can go in early at 6:00 PM. and see the camp. Longtime camp manager Ronnie Walker will try to have a lifeguard on duty in case someone wants to swim or paddle. There's a waterfall trail, but there's more, come see the cathedral in the woods, see the upper and a lower pavilion, take a walk around the pond, listen to the water rushing down Sommey Creek below where Two Branch and Hardbargain Creeks meet to form the falls, appreciate the lodges, old log cabins, camp facilities and more. Come out and see us! We'll be cooking hot dogs, bring a drink and dessert.

We're pleased to announce we'll have Dana Whitehair, from Foothills Connect with us, he's going to tell us what's going on with the broadband expansion initiative - can we expect service soon? Come to the camp Monday night and find out.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!  Camp McCall is having a Family Movie Night on Friday, August 17th. It starts around 8:30 in the Pavilion and the cost to get in is $3.00. There will be refreshments (popcorn and drinks) for sale. Hope to see you there!
Thank you Beth Murphy for this timely addition to out post.
__________________________________________________________________________________

Cedar Grove UMC would like to invite you to join them for:
Fitness Fun at Cedar Grove UMC
160 Toney Rd, Sunshine UMC
Tuesday's 6:30 PM Low Impact Aerobics
Thursday's 6:30 PM Beginners' Yoga
Come laugh with us and keep moving!

Pastor Cindy 828-891-2753 or 828-245-0293
__________________________________________________________________________________

Washburn Community Outreach is having a SALE
Washburn's will be having a 2.00 bag sale starting the 22th of August and going thru to Friday the 24th, On Saturday we will be giving away the remainder of our summer selection. On August 29th the thrift store will be filled with our fall selection. We are so excited about our fall and winter clothing, we live in a wonderful community that has always been very gracious to us here at Washburns Community Outreach. Please let everyone you know that we need your thrifty dollar to help us help our needy. Thank you Crystal Tate.

Crystal Tate is Washburn's Director - thank you Crystal for all that you do!
__________________________________________________________________________________

Hello From Fairview Mountain Ministries,
We are having a great summer here on the Mountain. It has been hot and busy but very exciting to watch God at work here. We are happy to share that several youth have accepted Christ while here and we know that many seeds have been planted.

We have had 215 youth here since school let out and have one more group to go before school starts back. Even after school takes back up, we continue to have our weekends filled into November.

If you have ever visited us, you know how great it is to set on the front porch and enjoy the breeze and spectacular view. After 10 years of use, our rocking chairs were in need of replacement and thanks to a wonderful group of people we now have 12 new ones!

If you would like to know more about us or what is going on, visit our web site at www.fairviewmountainministries.org. We also put out an email news letter each month. If you would like to receive it, just email me at rgurley.fmm@gmail.com and ask to be added to the list.

Have a great and Blessed Day!
Ron
_________________________________________________________________________________


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Support Whitehouse Community Center

Hiking in the South Mountains

I don't know how old this informaiton is - it notes the park reopened January 3, and mentions there is some hurricane damage, but there are some really nice links here, some pictures, and other places to hope to from here. http://hikingthecarolinas.com/south.php

Many of you have seen me reference Benn's Knob as a point of interest and I can't help but think you'll enjoy seeing it mentioned here, too.

Slightly Different Nursery - with Paul Owen

Daylilies, Slightly Different Nursery Paul Owen, Hardy Daylily, Hybrid Reblooming Daylilies For Sale We've talked about doing some field trips with the club, and in preparation for a group trip, Teresa, Angela and Karen visited the Slightly Different Nursery on Hollis Road near Polkville. Angela called ahead, and lucky she did, for we'd have shown up during a wedding and wouldn't have been able to get in. When we did go on Sunday, we had a lovely time.

In addition to selling Hybrid Daylillies, Paul Owen hosts events. See his website for more.

The Bottle Cap Bear of Sunshine School

Oh, the bear went over the mountain, the bear went over the mountain, the bear went over the mountain... wait a minute, there's a mountain in that bear. A mountain in a bear? Where? Over there?

Guess how many bottle caps it took to create this bear and win!

Why, there's a sky, and a sun behind the mountains and flowing blue water through the green fields, and the green grass grew all around, and around, and the green grass grew all around. Full time volunteer and library assistant extraordinaire, Ranger Randy, has done it again. All of Sunshine School's classes were involved in the construction of the bottle cap bear, as were many of Sunshine School's friends and families. Besides disposing of bottle caps in a manner, perhaps even better than recycling, the Bottle Cap Bear has been a source of pride this year for Sunshine's elementary school students.

Congratulations to Sunshine School and Ranger Randy for completing this beary terrific project. And no kidding, guess how many bottle caps does it take to build a 4 x 8 bottle cap bear? 1,085? That's my guess, post yours in the comments below.

Guest Speaker in April 2012

Whether you were or were not at the community club to hear Virginia Hawkins, of South Mountain Peaks, speak of her homeland Zimbabwe in April,  I thought you might appreciate an opportunity to peer behind the curtain, so to speak, and to hear from Cathy Buckle who is still there.


This morning, as I sit at the computer and curse the AT&T slow DSL, for a moment I think of Cathy and feel ashamed of my annoyance at what: centeral heat and air, running water, flush toilets, telephones, electricity, paved roads, petroleum products, grocery stores, WalMart, Lowes.... what in many places is an extreme luxury.

We are so blessed, even with our economy in the state it’s in today, we are so blessed.

Please scroll down to read Cathy’s letter. If you are interested in learning more, please visit her website: http://www.cathybuckle.com/ .

Country Ham Supper May 5 2012

Real Estate Trends in Bostic

What's happening in the Bostic NC real estate market? I've been asked this question so many times, that I usually prepare an excel spreadsheet and email it the first week of every month. This month, however, I've been asked to tell a group so, let me share information from an online source that I've come to use over REALTOR.com for reliable information.

The Rutherford County Board of REALTORS is a small local MLS. Because Bostic is in the sandwich between Cleveland and McDowell County and touching Burke to the east, we have real estate agents from each of these boards listing property in the county. I work with all of the agents. That's why I use our company owned lock boxes and not the electronic keyed Supra Boxes - which is a members only proposition. Oh, yes, I have a Supra Key - and it's not cheap - but I don't put their boxes on my listings. We have too many agents working in my area who don't use Supra Keys. We are a small local board but we have a full-fledged data feed, same as any other MLS in the nation, because of this I follow real estate results on Trulia, this gives me reports from ALL of the MLS listings in the area whether they're reported by the local MLS or not. This is what the data looks like today. From Trulia.com view the Marketing Report

Their information is not 100%, but it's getting better. It looks like, according to Trulia there are 189 homes on the market today 4/20/2012 see: KD's Real Estate Blog there's a Trulia Widget and you can see what's for sale in Bostic - zip code 28018.

28018, Bostic Homes For Sale

Biggerstaff Hanging Tree

Chivous Bradley tells the story to RC Catalyst-Biggerstaff Hanging Tree. Tom Melton told it to me, some years ago.

Tom said, on the way back to Gilbert Town, about half way back, at the Biggerstaff Farm the men stopped to camp. The idea was banded about that they ought to hold a trial and hang the traitors they were escorting. Now they'd stopped at Aaron Biggerstaff's farm. Aaron had been killed at the Battle of King's Mountain. Some men were dispatched to go into town and bring back some magistrates.

According to Tom, 36 men were tried and found guilty of treason and were sentenced to death by hanging.

The hanging's commenced and stopped after nine bodies were swinging in the tree. Tom said there were several differing stories about why the hangings were stopped, one story is that they simply ran out of rope, one story says they were too drunk to continue and the one Tom liked the best, although whether it was true or not he did not know went like this:

Nine bodies were swinging when a young man, a boy of about ten or eleven rode frantically into the midst of the assembly bareback on a rail thin plow horse. Having learned that his brother was sentenced to hang, he hurried as quickly as he could to the Biggerstaff's.

Now, what we don't realize about the war, is that most of the opponents knew each other, most went to school or church or at the least knew one another from around town, and hanging people you don't know is hard enough, hanging friends, and family, well that's another matter.

This young man is said to have made a near hysterical appealed to the soldiers, to please let his brother go, to let him come home. It was October of the year and there were a lot of farm chores to be done else wise the family would not make it through the winter. Tom told that one of the soldiers, cut the brother loose, put both boys on that old horse, slapped it's rump and watched them ride away. No one made any effort to stop them and no one else was hanged.

The next day the soldiers rode on, leaving all nine bodies in the tree for the widow Biggerstaff and her hired man to deal with. And you can bet there's a story there....

True? Who knows. It came down in area oral history, and as most tales is as good as the telling.

Golden Valley Community Club Meeting - April 2012

We are back to business as usual at the Golden Valley Clubhouse on Monday night. We’re going back to the third Monday of the month, and it will be nice to get back into our building! We’re also getting back into bringing a covered dish and a dollar (for paper goods). If you’re a guest, by all means come as our guest. If you’ve been before you’re a member – bring a dish and a dollar! Occasionally we’re asked if we’ll accept more than a dollar – of course we will. What’s up in the community? Pop over to our web log (blog) and have a look: http://goldenvalleync.blogspot.com/ here you’ll find Easter news from a couple of our churches and a post about the new business in Sunshine, Lunsford Financial – Warren Lunsford does Insurance and Taxes and if you haven’t turned in your taxes yet, why you run right down and see him. This month we look forward to our guest speaker, Virginia Hawkins. Virginia will be talking about various stages the country Rhodesia took as it became independent Zimbabwe and talk about what life is like there today. Virginia and her husband, Geoff, were both born in Rhodesia. Their fathers were colleagues in the Government. Virginia’s Father-in-Law was Air Vice Marshall of the Rhodesian Air Force and later became Ambassador to South Africa, although he was by birth an Australian. Geoff and Virginia along with their two children have lived in England, South Africa, Zimbabwe, India and Bangladesh. She says “We chose North Carolina for our retirement”. And we’re happy to have them here in Golden Valley. What a lovely place to call home. It’s exciting to have people from all over the world coming to Rutherford County, please join us on Monday night to hear Virginia. I look forward to seeing you there. Don’t forget to friend us on Facebook! http://www.facebook.com/kdmccall#!/pages/Golden-Valley/104422519892

Washburn Community Outreach Center - Bostic NC

Pastor Laurie, of Salem Church reports: If you haven't been to the Washburn Community Outreach Center recently, please make the trip! Crystal Tate has done a phenomenal job and it will be a blessing for you to see ! We will be putting the shirts with the scarves made by Carol and the Youth at the Outreach Center - please consider purchasing one (the accompanying shirt is free) and the youth will receive all of the profits. Also, please remember that the black bins beneath the bulletin board in the Fellowship Hall are for collecting food for the Outreach Center Food Pantry and for the BackPack program. Please see your bulletin for suggested donations. Join the Ourteach Center on Facebook! http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Washburn-Community-OutReach-Center/112662588828072

Worship Services, April 5 - 8 at Cedar Grove

Maundy Thursday Community Worship Service

Come remember the Last Supper of Christ with His Disciples

with the people of Cedar Grove, Salem, & Sunshine UMC

at Sunshine UMC 367 Depriest Rd, Bostic, NC

Thursday, April 5, 2012; 6:00 PM

Good Friday Community Service

Come remember the reason for the crucifixion of Christ and His Burial in the Tomb

with the people of Cedar Grove, Salem, & Sunshine UMC

at Salem UMC 177 Salem Church Rd, Bostic, NC

Friday, April 6, 2012; 6:00 PM

Easter Sunrise Community Service

Sunday, April 8, 2012; 6:45 AM

with Breakfast to follow in fellowship hall

at Cedar Grove UMC Cemetery, 160 Toney Rd, Bostic, NC

Easter Sunday Service

with the people of Cedar Grove and Sunshine UMC

Sunday, April 8, 2012; 11:00 AM

at Cedar Grove UMC, 160 Toney Rd, Bostic, NC

Blessings and Joy! Pastor Cindy Lunsford 828-891-2753, 828-245-0293

Salem UMC - Easter Newsletter

What a joyful celebration we had today for Palm Sunday. Our children blessed us with their memorized Bible verse, both Psalm 151 and the adult choir were magnificent, Pat and Amy blessed up with their gifts of music, and Greta's children's sermon was enjoyable for young and old alike!

As we begin Holy Week, please keep in mind these dates and times :

Monday 7:00 pm Washburn Community Outreach Center

Board Meeting at the Center

Tuesday 6:30 pm ZUMBA (see PS below)

7:30 pm Psalm 151 practice (see PS below)

Wednesday 5:00 pm meal

6:30 pm Children's Program "The Easter Tree" in the Sanctuary

7:30 Choir Practice

Thursday 6:00 pm Maundy Thursday Service / Sunshine UMC

Friday 6:00 pm Good Friday/Tennebrae Service / Salem UMC


Sunday (Easter)

7:00 am Sunrise Service

7:45 am Breakfast in the Fellowship Hall

11:00 am Worship with Easter Cantata

We had a wonderful evening of Youth and Confirmation tonight. Thank you to Beth and Jason who helped with Confirmation, to the youth who are continuing to work and plan for their mission trip, and to the Confirmands for putting together Easter Baskets for our homebound members.

My office hours for this week will be :

Monday 10:00am - 1:00pm

Tuesday 3:00 - 5:30 pm

Wednesday 2:30 - 5:00 pm
Thursday 2:00 - 5:00 pm

I pray that you will all have a very holy "Holy Week" as you contemplate the God we serv, the God who loved us so much that He was willing to become one of us and walk through all of life with us.

Love in Christ,

Pastor Laurie

PS Please not that there will be no ZUMBA this week, neither on Tuesday or Thursday nights, because of Holy Week. In addition, Psalm 151 Praise Band will not be practicing on Tuesday evening.

Activities will resume as normal next week

Country Ham Supper April 7th

Salem Methodist Church - Easter News

Pastor Laurie Knoespel has sent Golden Valley a note to share:

Do you need to order a bag? There's a little time left, but the clock is ticking.

http://www.mixedbagdesigns.com/ is the website where all of the available bags are pictured. The Youth are selling these bags as a fundraiser - there are also catalogs available and actual samples to view. These bags are very fashionable and extremely useful - they come in all shapes, sizes and patterns. Please visit the website or see Carol or a Youth to order. All orders must be received no later than Tuesday, April 3rd. That way the bags will be received in time for Mother's Day.

Holy Week Schedule :

Maundy Thursday 6:00 pm Sunshine UMC

Good Friday (Tennebrae) 6:00 pm Salem UMC


Easter Schedule :

Sunrise Service 7:00 am

Big Breakfast 7:40 am

Easter Cantata and Worship 11:00 am

Taxes Done at Lunsford Financial, Sunshine, NC



   



If you've driven out the Bostic Sunshine Highway through Sunshine Community lately you've noticed there's a new business in the old Foy Biggerstaff Store. It's none other than Lunsford Financial Services, he's in business and is on duty to help you with your taxes.

INSURANCE AND TAXES


WARREN LUNSFORD

5417 BOSTIC SUNSHINE HIGHWAY

828-245-1225
 
Stop in and see him sometime.

Community Meeting March 2012

We're heading back to Mike's Diner on Music Row on Tuesday, March 20th for the Golden Valley Community Club dinner meeting. We'll start the meeting around 7:00 - how about coming early so Mike won't be overwhelmed with all of us arriving at once.

Country Ham Supper in Duncan's Creek

Cemetary Rules and Laws

Ya'll know I'm in real estate and you also know I'm the Golden Valley Honorary Historian, so it comes as no surprise that a descendant of a Golden Valley private grave-yard ooccupant has contacted me to find out where a cemetary is, and to ask if they might visit their Great Grandmother's grave and take some photographs.

I've got to thank John Grimes for this well written and comprehensive article: http://ncroots.com/cemeteryrules.htm

I was on the verge of selling a piece of property one time when the buyer realized there was a family graveyard on the property. He nearly backed out, because he didn't want to have open access across the property and he believed he couldn't close the old roadbed. Turns out the graveyard was so close to the main road that it wasn't a problem, but I remembered if you own property with a cemetery you have to grant access to the descendants. They do, however have to request permission to visit. See NC General Statute 10 in the article.

Golden LEAF Scholarship deadline March 1, 2012

Linda Lamp of Western Carolina Communities forwarded this letter, replete with scholarship information to the Golden Valley Community Club. I can forward the original email with links if you're interested.

Greetings!

The Golden LEAF Scholarship deadline is approaching. Applications are due March 1 and can be accessed at CFNC.org/goldenleaf. A total of 215 awards will be offered to first-time recipients to assist with tuition at participating institutions for the 2012-13 academic year. The awards are valued at $12,000 ($3,000 per year for up to four years) for students from qualifying counties attending a participating North Carolina campus and are funded by a grant from the Golden LEAF Foundation.




Candidates must submit a Golden LEAF scholarship application, available at CFNC.org/goldenleaf; a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), available at www.fafsa.gov; and a current high school or community college transcript no later than March 1.



To help with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) process, on Feb. 18 college financial specialists and college aid professionals will be available across the state to help families complete and submit their forms online. FAFSA Day programs will be hosted by every county in the state that morning. Click here to find a FAFSA Day location near you, the program times and to register to attend.



For information about the Golden LEAF Scholarship and other college funding opportunities, contact College Foundation of North Carolina at 866-866-CFNC. This is a free service.



Also click here to check out another opportunity for youth and young adults in rural North Carolina through the NC Rural Center’s New Generation Initiative.



In this edition of “Golden LEAF News,” read about job creation and/or training programs in Henderson, Forsyth, Davidson, and Lenoir counties. Learn more about the Golden LEAF Community Assistance Initiative (CAI) process in McDowell and Beaufort counties and a (CAI) project at work in Cumberland County. Find out about opportunities for poultry and rabbit producers in the west and opportunities for farmers to learn to market their products through social media. Read about historic preservation training opportunities in Edgecombe County and entrepreneurship education and training in Surry County. See how STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) programs are forming in Lenoir and Jones counties. Finally, check out how to apply for Golden LEAF scholarship opportunities and see current scholarship recipients.





Best,

Jenny Tinklepaugh

Program/ Communications Officer

jtinklepaugh@goldenleaf.org

www.goldenleaf.org



In this edition of "Golden LEAF News":



Applications for Golden LEAF Foundation Scholarships due March 1

The Business Journals

Applications for the 2012-13 Golden LEAF Foundation scholarship program are now available at CFNC.org/goldenleaf. A total of 215 awards will be offered to first-time recipients to assist with tuition at participating institutions for the 2012-13 academic year. The awards are valued at $12,000 ($3,000 per year for up to four years) for students from qualifying counties attending a participating North Carolina campus and are funded by a grant from the Golden LEAF Foundation. Candidates must submit a Golden LEAF scholarship application, available at CFNC.org/goldenleaf; a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), available at www.fafsa.gov; and a current high school or community college transcript no later than March 1. A complete list of program requirements, participating campuses and qualifying counties can be viewed at CFNC.org/goldenleaf.



$1.5 million grant from One North Carolina Fund helps bring Sierra Nevada Brewing to WNC

Mountain Xpress

Gov. Bev Perdue recently announced that Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., an independent, family-owned pioneer in craft brewing, will locate a brewing facility for the East Coast in Mills River as well as an onsite restaurant. The project was made possible in part by a Golden LEAF grant. The company plans to create 95 full-time jobs as part of the grant and invest $107.5 million during the next five years in Henderson County. In addition the company expects to hire another 80 part-time employees and expects to create about 60 construction and mechanical jobs during its 24-month building phase. These jobs will be created in gradual phases starting in mid to late 2012 and continuing through 2013.



Community college prepares students for Caterpillar careers (click here for video)

News 14 Carolina

Caterpillar is a company that is bringing jobs back to the U.S. from overseas. It has opened an axle plant in the Triad and classes are under way at Forsyth Tech's Caterpillar Training Facility in Kernersville. The company plans to hire dozens of workers over the next few months and the community college is working to make sure those future workers are prepared. According to college officials, the training facility would not have happened without community partnerships and several grants. A Golden LEAF Foundation grant provided funding for D48 simulators, equipment integral to the training process.



Sale and leaseback deal can benefit the local community

Asset Finance International

North Carolina-based TIMCO Aviation Services provides aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services and aerospace manufactured products to a broad array of commercial, government and military customers. Davidson County in North Carolina stands to benefit from a deal involving the sale and leaseback of equipment with TIMCO Aerosystems with a grant from the non-profit community development corporation the Golden LEAF Foundation. As part of the deal, the county is purchasing and will lease back to TIMCO a deceleration sled that will be used for crash-testing airplane seats manufactured in the company's Wallburg facility, as well as a data acquisition system. By leasing the equipment to TIMCO, the county will get its money back in full, plus interest.



Funds secured for industrial sewer expansion

$1.25 million Golden LEAF grant obtained; city, county also commit toward $4.3 million expansion at Industrial Park

Kinston Free Press

The Golden LEAF Foundation awarded a $1.25 million grant to the City of Kinston to expand public sewer capacity at the U.S. 70 West Industrial Park. The city of Kinston and Lenoir County have each agreed to commit up to $775,000. With the expanded sewer capacity, Smithfield will create 330 new full time jobs. Additional sewer capacity at the park would help create capacity to recruit more tenants.



Golden LEAF request: Universal site upgrade

County aims for $2.2 million from foundation

McDowell News

McDowell County could get approximately $2 million in grant money from the Golden LEAF Foundation Community Assistance Initiative. McDowell County will seek to get $2.2 million in Golden LEAF money in order to help pay for the upgrades to the old Universal Bedroom Furniture plant and also fix up vacated space at the community college. The site, which includes a nearly 400,000-square-foot building and 315 acres of land, could be used for the long-term expansion needs of McDowell Technical Community College and provide space for small industries. The county school system could also make use of the site. As a backup project, the commissioners also agreed to submit a request for $200,000 that will be used for an access road to county-owned property located off of Ashworth Road.



LEAF finds consensus

Washington Daily News

At the last Golden LEAF Foundation’s Community Assistance Initiative meeting in Beaufort County, community leaders discussed, dissected and debated their words one last time before those words became the guidelines by which proposals for $2 million in grant money would be considered. Over the past four months, representatives from the county’s government and nonprofit entities have worked together to determine where Beaufort County’s funding priorities lie: economic development and infrastructure, education and workforce development and health and wellness. A request for proposals was sent out with a Feb. 10 deadline for submittal. On Feb. 23, Golden LEAF officials will return to provide feedback on the proposals.



Paying for college made easier

Foundation offers help for finding financial aid

Kinston Free Press

On Feb. 18, college financial aid officers and specialists will be available across the state to help families complete and submit their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms online. FAFSA Day programs will be hosted by every county in the state that morning. FAFSA forms must be filled out by every student hoping to receive federal — and most state — financial aid for college, including scholarships and grants. Students in qualifying counties, such as Lenoir, Greene and Jones counties, also can apply for one of 215 scholarships from the Golden LEAF Foundation. These awards are valued at $12,000 ($3,000 per year for up to four years) for students from qualifying counties attending a participating North Carolina campus. Applications are due on March 1. For more information about FAFSA and Golden LEAF Scholarship opportunities, contact College Foundation of North Carolina at 866-866-CFNC.



Rich Square college fair provides school, funding options

Roanoke Rapids Daily Herald

On Feb. 1, Rich Square W.S. Creecy Training and Community Center sponsored a college fair for middle school, high school and community-college students and their parents. In addition to more than 20 college and universities attending, the college fair also featured a variety of workshops with the College Foundation of North Carolina about financial aid, Golden LEAF Foundation scholarship opportunities and the National Collegiate Athletic Association for student athletes. More than 300 students were expected to attend the fair with 255 students already registered from Northampton County Schools, Bertie County Schools, Hertford County Public Schools and Edgecombe County Public Schools. The center is provided lunch for the students.



Golden LEAF Expands Scholarships to $750 K

Inside Stanly

Students from Stanly Community College (SCC) have received scholarships through the Golden LEAF Scholarship program for the North Carolina Community College System. The Golden LEAF Scholarship program, designed to help North Carolinians attend the state’s community colleges, is funded through a $750,000 grant from the Golden LEAF Foundation, an increase of $250,000 from previous years. The Golden LEAF Board recognized the challenge North Carolinians face in these tough economic times to attend college to retool and prepare for emerging job opportunities. Therefore, the additional $250,000 helps to insure more scholarship funds are available for citizens seeking to enhance their employability skills. Click here to see the curriculum students and continuing education students who received scholarships at SCC.



New Marion processing plant to give poultry producers a boost

Asheville Citizen-Times

Mountain poultry and rabbit producers now have a place to take their animals for processing, and it’s billed as “the first community-administered, nonprofit meat processing facility in the U.S.” The Foothills Pilot Plant — a collaborative effort of state and local governments, small-scale meat animal producers and grant-making agencies — will open a few days ahead of schedule. Because the plant will be run under the authority of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration, meat processed at the plant can be transported and sold across state lines. Funding came from three major sources the N.C. Golden LEAF Foundation, the N.C. Rural Center and the Appalachian Regional Commission. The facility can process chickens, turkeys and rabbits. Once processed, the packaged meat is returned to the farmer and ready for sale.



Farming 2.0

Mountain Times

A Social Media for Farmers workshop was held on Jan. 31 at the Watauga Agricultural Conference County Center in Boone. The all-day hands-on workshop was designed especially for farmers and taught by social media experts to teach the power of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to reach new customers and grow farm business. The workshop was funded by a grant from the Golden LEAF foundation, with additional support from the N.C. Cooperative Extension, Watauga County Center.



Local Demand Drives Weekend Courses in Historic Preservation

The Daily Southerner

In response to local demand, the Edgecombe Community College has developed several new courses in the historic preservation trades program. One of the new classes "Preservation of Farm Structures” will focus on teaching methods of preserving historic dependency buildings, like tobacco barns. Students will visit several nearby structures and work on various ways of stabilizing the buildings. In addition to a certificate that can be obtained through six weekend classes, a one-year diploma and a two-year degree also are available. Edgecombe is one of only five community colleges in the nation that offers a program in historic preservation and the only one in North Carolina. The historic preservation program is supported by the Golden LEAF Foundation. To register or for more information about the program, contact Monika Fleming at 823-5166, ext. 241, or email flemingm@edgecombe.edu.



Program to teach business skills

Mount Airy News

Thanks to a $100,000 Golden LEAF grant NCREAL (Rural Entrepreneurship through Action Learning) is set to help spur entrepreneurial development in the region. The new regional initiative was announced during a kickoff celebration at Surry Community College. The grant was awarded last year by the Golden LEAF Foundation to help fund NCREAL (Rural Entrepreneurship through Action Learning) to help develop a spirit of small business creation in the region. The goal of the program is to help people in small rural communities across North Carolina learn how to develop a viable business through hands-on programs and a network of knowledgeable support. The program will be integrated into the public school systems in Surry and Yadkin counties as well as the region’s community colleges, school leaders said.



Contentnea-Savannah receives first math-based middle school learning center in state

Kinston Free Press

An interactive math-learning center at Contentnea-Savannah K8 School is the first of its kind in the state. The project-based center is housed at the school’s computer lab and will allow students to have hands-on experience with math. Modules will be based on topics such as sports statistics, unsolved mysteries, climate change and projectile motion. The learning center was funded through the Golden LEAF, the STEM East Initiative, the Committee of 100 and Spirit AeroSystems, and offers a tangible demonstration of adaptive learning in Eastern North Carolina. Jones Middle School in Trenton opened a similar science-based technology learning center in November, funded by a $350,000 Golden LEAF grant. The learning center will consist of 10 modules, including flight simulation, bridge-building, engine maintenance and forensic science.



At Your Library: Turn to Cumberland library for job help

Fayetteville Observer

Cumberland County Public Library & Information Center received a $61,640 grant from the Golden LEAF Foundation to provide even more help. The grant provides 10 laptop computers for each of our eight library branches. These laptops are used for hands-on training to learn how to obtain a job and to succeed in today's digital workforce. One exciting opportunity is free help to prepare for the North Carolina Career Readiness Certificate. Library staff will use the laptops provided by the Golden LEAF grant in programs such as Resume and Job Search Drop-In Clinics, classes on using PipelineNC.com to search for jobs, or small group classes on basic computer skills. Hours, locations and contact numbers are available at cumberland.lib.nc.us, or call 483-7727.

Sunshine School & Weather Underground

Sunshine School now sports a full featured weather station in co-operation with Weather Underground. Log in at http://wunderground, choose Bostic, choose Sunshine Elementary. Scroll to the bottom of the page and find the Sunshine station. You can copy and paste and share the link, or grab the embed code for your blogs and websites.

Cherry Mountain Fire Department Auxiliary

We NEED you!

The Cherry Mountain Fire Department Auxiliary Club is always looking for new members. And we don't have to have 100% committment from all or any of our group. What we need is for people who are available to respond to our call, to come to the fire department in the event of a fire and stand by to prepare and/or to carry food, drinks and other requested items to the scene of a fire. Sometimes we just need people to help with fundraisers, and to make meeting announcements at church. Sometimes we just need someone to help serve at one of our dinners. We also need to add to the core group of regulars who meet monthly, on the second Tursday, who plan and arrange and sell doughnut holes and cook books and tee shirts and whatever else they can do to get behind and to help our firefighters. Volunteer - Men and Women - We need you!

The Cherry Mountain Fire Department Auxiliary Club has a few cookbooks left. At $10.00 each the cookbooks have been a great fund raiser for the Auxiliary and all of the recipes in the book were given by members of the community. "Recipes to the Rescue" is the Cherry Mountain Fire Department's first cookbook and we've almost sold out. If you want one, call Karen or any of the auxiliary members.

Washburn Community Outreach

The Community Outreach, 828 245-5603 at Washburn is open on Friday and Saturday. The Washburn Community Outreach Center is serving 3 school backpack programs - Ellenboro, Sunshine and East Middle School. Volunteers stuff backpacks for school children to take home over the weekend. See what to donate: Feed Our Children

The center has a donation box on site. Store hours are 9 - 2 Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

A big thank you to the director Crystal Tate.

If you have a few hours available you can volunteer, just putting clothes on hangers is a help. There's always something to do.

Golden Valley Community Club FAQ

The Golden Valley Community Club was chartered in 1952. We traditionally meet on the third Monday of the month at 7:00 in the evening. Meetings usually dismiss before 9:00. This is generally a potluck dinner meeting. The first time you come please, come as our guest. The second time you come you come as a member, bring a dish and a dollar.

In the winter we sometimes meet at local businesses. Call to confirm the meeting date and time, or email kd at kdmccall@gmail.com

Google Map

Golden Valley, Duncan's Creek, Sunshine Insurance Rates May Incerease

Karen here:

I received a call from an upset home owner yesterday – the story is long but here’s the gist. You might get a letter from your insurance company about an increase in insurance rates since it’s significant. Evidentially this is NOT affecting everyone, just the insurance agencies that have subscribed to a certain mapping service.

Here’s the short-short: if I understand correctly, a mapping company has geo-coded our area (served by the Cherry Mountain Fire Department) for Insurance Districts. In order to get the best rate you have to live within 5 miles of our fire department. Anyone/any household falling outside of the district (and this is as the vehicle drives and not as the crow flies) is billed at the higher rate. People are not actually losing their rate, it seems that they’ve been getting a break and with the new mapping they won’t be getting that anymore. To add an interesting twist to the story, the mapping is from the old fire station at Bostic Sunshine and Duncan’s Creek and not from the new station. Consequently, for now, it’s a muddle.

If this turns out to affect a lot of people I’ll talk with the Fire Chief and will do an indepth article about it. Meanwhile, I am telling people to contact Randy McKinny of Allstate for insurance information. He is local; so he’s aware of the situation and its ramifications. 828 287-8010.

February 2, 2012

January 2012 Community Newsletter

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Community-Newsletter.html?soid=1102382229068&aid=PnOthuP8_7s For those of you who missed it, here's a link to the January Newsletter. You may subscribe here, too.

WLOS ABC 13 News :: Top Stories - Tornado Strikes Rutherford Co.

Rare twister touches down WLOS ABC 13 News :: Top Stories - Tornado Strikes Rutherford Co.

The Cherry Mountain Fire Department was called out this evening around 5:30 to assist on scene after a freak storm leveled at least one home and damaged several others on Piney Mountain Church Road. According to the news release as many as 10 people may have been injured.

Follow up story, The Aftermath Blog Post by Rutherford County @ RCCatalyst. You'll find a couple of pages here at RC Catalyst, a local ezine.

Golden Valley Parade & Dynamite, by Mickey Brackett

Golden Valley Parade & Dynamite


By

Mickey Brackett


General Dwight David Eisenhower, a war hero and republican, was elected President of the United States and served for eight years. I was born during his term in office and was eight years old when John F. Kennedy, a democrat, was elected president in 1960. It seemed that the majority of the people in Golden Valley and, I assumed most in North Carolina, were Democrats at the time. My relatives were dyed-in- the- wool democrats and had worked at elections and as registrars for decades. Therefore I assumed at the time I should support Kennedy as president and his party.

The night after the election, the greatest news ever to be told an eight-year- old- boy was announced. A Kennedy election celebration parade with fireworks would be held that night in Golden Valley. People in their pickups and cars lined up for miles it seemed. Cecil, my brother, Kohler Queen, our neighbor, and I rode in the back of Garret Jones’s International pickup truck that had cattle sides so we wouldn’t fall out. Horns were blowing from every vehicle as they were driven along. We paraded down every road possible in Golden Valley. In the back of Mr. Jones’s truck we were screaming, “Kennedy” “Kennedy,” and best of all we were launching firecrackers as fast as we could. I threw exploding firecrackers at every driveway regardless if Democrats or Republicans lived there. We never seemed to get cold even with it being the first week in November. I thought life was wonderful! Cecil and Koehler though so as well until a firecracker exploded in Koehler’s hand. This seemed to diminish his celebration spirit somewhat. The parade continued until around 9PM. This was normally my bedtime, but tonight was different.

Some of the Democrat leaders in the community had purchased the loudest firecrackers of all - - dynamite! Laddie Brackett, my daddy, allowed the older boys to go with him and the other men to the top of Buck Holler, up the current Laser Drive, not far from our house. There within hearing range of everyone in Golden Valley sticks of dynamite were individually ignited. Instead of using a safety blasting plunger, they used long fuses and matches like in old western movies. After lighting a fuse a man would come running and panting back to the others waiting a safe distance away. The explosions were deafening and definitely something different to tell the other boys in school the next day. Soon dad took us home, thus getting into bed later than normal for a school night.

The next day at school I wanted to tell everyone about the firecrackers and dynamite the night before. Apparently, some people in our community did not appreciate all the previous night’s commotion and had actually called the law. It was easy to determine which of my classmates’ parents voted for the losing party. You would think everyone would love a parade with firecrackers and dynamite regardless of their political affiliation.

Those good Golden Valley people finished their celebrations and went back to work the next day in hosiery mills, furniture factories, textile mills, farms, sawmills, and other jobs as they always had done. Once the election was over most had no additional participation in politics or governing.

Recently I visited the Kennedy Museum and Library in Boston, Massachusetts. I looked for some mention of these parades after his election but found none. While there I listened to many of John Kennedy’s speeches and saw TV news broadcasts about events that occurred during the early 1960s when he was in office. One event that occurred was the Cuban missile crisis. I remember Nat Fortune at the Butlers Store (later to become the Good Ole Boys) keeping close to a radio during this time afraid of nuclear war starting between the USA and the old Soviet Union. Some in Golden Valley even talked of building underground fallout shelters during this time. However, the crisis was averted, missiles were removed from Cuba, and life returned to normal around Golden Valley.

I have not heard of such a parade since that night in 1960. Surely this was not the first parade for such an election? Why was the parade held? Were Democrats so tired of Republicans having control of the Whitehouse for eight years or did they love Kennedy that much? Shouldn’t parades be a part of every election? It seems few remember that night well enough to answer my questions. Politics for me hasn’t been as much fun since the Kennedy election parade of 1960.